OAKLAND, Calif. – According to event organizers, over 10,000 demonstrators poured into downtown Oakland on Saturday for one of the largest “No Kings” rallies in the Bay Area to protest against the Trump Administration.
Organizers in Oakland framed Saturday’s march as a patriotic stand for democracy. “This is a ‘Love America’ rally. People are here because they are united by America’s founding values,” said Oakland rally spokesperson Joey Raff.
Organizers stressed the peaceful nature of the protest both before and during the rally. Republican opponents described the rallies as “Hate America” marches.
A No Kings attendee, Richard, who declined to give his last name due to privacy concerns, shared, “We who disagree with everything that’s going on in the government have only two things we can do. Vote and protest.”
“No Kings” represents how “[America] broke away from the Kings way back in 1776, and we’re not gonna go back,” said an activist who declined to give his name out of safety concerns.
Demonstrators expressed anxiety about the decline in checks and balances under the Trump administration.
“I don’t like seeing our democracy become more and more totalitarian,” said demonstrator Cornac Pujals. He wants the executive branch to have less “concentration of power.”
Protestors called attention to many instances in which they believe President Trump exceeded his authority. Namely, many participants said they were alarmed by National Guard and ICE deployments to cities around the country.
KZ, a No Kings attendee, said he believes the National Guard has been deployed “with the express purpose by the administration to frighten the American people.”
Oakland resident Luella Penserga compared today’s ICE deportations to Japanese internment during World War II. “The fact that we’re living through that today, it’s unconscionable. We can’t have the federal government coming in, taking over, and creating detention camps again,” she said.
Michael Cabanatuan from Albany said immigration was his key concern. “Raiding, locking up, taking people off their jobs in the fields, in the meatpacking plants, cleaning buildings, it hurts everybody,” he said. “There’s gotta be a much more reasonable solution that can be negotiated, but the Republican party under Trump isn’t about negotiating.”
Protesters noted a host of other grievances that they view as authoritarian. During the march, an organizer yelled into a megaphone: “If trans rights are under attack, what do we do?” The crowd called back, “stand up, fight back!” This chant was repeated with multiple variations advocating for women’s rights, democracy, healthcare, immigration, and more.
The crowd swelled in front of the Alameda County Administration Building before hearing from speakers including Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, CA District 12 Representative Lateefah Simon, Dr. Stewart Chen, an Oakland Chinatown Community Leader, and MT Snyder representing the Federal Unionists Network.
The energy was both defiant and festive. Families pushed children in strollers, union members in purple Service Employees International Union shirts led chants, and some attendees dressed as Founding Fathers or wore inflatable animal costumes. Others marched alone or in small groups carrying homemade signs.
“The movement’s become very diverse,” KZ, said. “If you look here today, it’s a multi-generational group of people here of all ages. People are coming together across a diverse number of causes.”
The local rally took on a distinctly Bay Area focus, centering around support for Proposition 50. According to the California Secretary of State Voter’s Guide, Proposition 50 is a state legislative amendment that “authorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting.” This state ballot measure is expected to favor California Democrats.
If the measure passes after California’s November 4th special election, new maps would be redrawn in 2026 and redrawn again following the 2030 U.S. Census by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
Opponents cited in the Voter Guide maintain that “Prop. 50 was written by politicians, for politicians—dismantling safeguards that keep elections fair, removes requirements to keep local communities together, and eliminates voter protections that ban maps designed to favor political parties.”
Proponents argue that the measure will “reaffirm California’s commitment to independent, nonpartisan redistricting after the next census.”
Some demonstrators who shared their support for Proposition 50 mentioned that while they would normally object to redistricting, they view this special election as an outlier.
“I’m not saying that gerrymandering is right, but you can’t let other people do it,” Richard said.
For many attendees, the rally’s scale was evidence of a growing sense of urgency to show up and speak up for local causes like Proposition 50, because of the potential for national impact.
Cabanatuan, who plans to vote for Proposition 50 said, “It’s a California election, but it’s not really a California issue. This is us fighting for the rest of the country and fighting to protect democracy.”
